In a recent study, the quality of the water on your favorite airline is not that stellar.
In better news, the two airlines tied for first place in the rankings in the study are Alaska Airlines and Allegiant Air flight. The two aforementioned airlines tied for first place according to the Hunter College New York City Food Policy Center at the City of University along with the website DietDetective.com.
But if you are on a JetBlue or Spirit flight, the water on board may not be the best idea to ingest.
The study was not a review on bottled water but rather water used to make tea and coffee as well as the water used in bathrooms.
So what does this mean for you?
Thankfully, included in the study include warnings not to drink water onboard an aircraft unless it is in a sealed bottle or to drink any coffee or tea prepared on board.
And instead of washing your hands in the airplane’s bathroom, the study encourages passengers to use hand sanitizer. Airlines are then required to provide safe drinking water for passengers and crew due to the Aircraft Drinking Water Rule.
The federal government policy dates back to 2011 where airlines are given the “water health scores” ranging from a 5 (the highest score) to a 0 (the lowest.)
“A score of 3.0 or better indicates that the airline has relatively safe, clean water,” the study states.
The criteria for the study included fleet size, the number of Aircraft Drinking Water Rule violations, results of water sample reports and how cooperatively the airlines were in providing the questions about the water.
Below are the rankings:
Alaska Airlines, 3.3
Allegiant Air, 3.3
Hawaiian Airlines, 3.1
Frontier Airlines, 2.6
Southwest Airlines, 2.4
Delta Air Lines, 1.6
American Airlines, 1.5
United Airlines, 1.2
JetBlue, 1
Spirit Airlines, 1